FEWO Committee Report

SITUATION CRITICAL: Experiences of Women in the Department of National Defence

A Minority Report submitted by the New Democratic Party of Canada
To the Government of Canada

FORWARD:

In our opinion, the overly-ambitious schedule adopted by the Liberal majority on this committee at the beginning of the Parliamentary session was designed to create the illusion of Liberals working diligently for Canadians rather than producing a fulsome document with substantive recommendations and real change for Canadians. As a result, this dissenting/supplementary report is being drafted before the committee has received a draft report from the analysts on the Experiences of Women in the Department of National Defence This lack of consideration in planning ahead does not serve the witnesses who provided testimony in the hopes of contributing to a substantive and meaningful report; nor does it respect the staff, analysts, translators who are required to produce these reports with inadequate time and resources. In the future, we hope that this standing committee take this into consideration when setting future agendas.

Because of inadequate time, the NDP report takes the form of a short summary with proposed recommendations.

It is our sincere hope that the 43^rd Parliament and its Committees address this critical issue in a timely and effective manner. Women in the Department of National Defence are waiting, and the hoped-for result can only be an enhanced, more diverse and responsive Department.

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Experiences of Women in the Department of National Defence:

It has been four years since 2015, when Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps released her report [1] on military sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) including recommendations for addressing the crisis and calling for broad scale cultural reform within the CAF. In response the CAF launched Operation Honour in 2017 and commissioned a survey under Statistics Canada to examine the issue of MSM.

Unfortunately, there has been little change in the culture of the Canadian Armed Forces to address military sexual misconduct and sexual harassment since then. [2]

The Parliamentary Committee for the Status of Women heard from witnesses over the course of five meetings between May 7 and 30 2019, most of whom gave heart wrenching testimony about the culture of misogyny and abuse prevalent in the CAF to this day. The failure of the CAF to effectively address this issue has resulted in a diminished Department lacking diversity and inclusion.

The New Democratic Party of Canada makes the following list of recommendations, with references to the testimony justifying each:

• 1) That the Government of Canada direct the Department of National Defence to implement all of the recommendations of the Marie Deschamps report on military sexual harassment as follows:
  1. Acknowledge that inappropriate sexual conduct is a serious problem that exists in the CAF and undertake to address it.
  2. Establish a strategy to effect cultural change to eliminate the sexualized environment and to better integrate women, including by conducting a gender-based analysis of CAF policies.
  3. Create an independent center for accountability for sexual assault and harassment outside of the CAF with the responsibility for receiving reports of inappropriate sexual conduct, as well as prevention, coordination and monitoring of training, victim support, monitoring of accountability, and research, and to act as a central authority for the collection of data.
  4. Allow members to report incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault to the center for accountability for sexual assault and harassment, or simply to request support services without the obligation to trigger a formal complaint process.
  5. With the participation of the center for accountability for sexual assault and harassment:
  1. Develop a simple, broad definition of sexual harassment that effectively captures all dimensions of the member's relationship with the CAF.
  2. Develop a definition of adverse personal relationship that specifically addresses relationships between members of different rank, and creates a presumption of an adverse personal relationship where the individuals involved are of different rank, unless the relationship is properly disclosed.
  3. Define sexual assault in the policy as intentional, non-consensual touching of a sexual nature.
  4. Give guidance on the requirement for consent, including by addressing the impact on genuine consent of a number of factors, including intoxication, differences in rank, and the chain of command.
  5. With the participation of the center for accountability for sexual assault and harassment, develop a unified policy approach to address inappropriate sexual conduct and include as many aspects as possible of inappropriate sexual conduct in a single policy using plain language.
  6. Simplify the harassment process by:
     • Directing formal complaints to COs acting as adjudicators in a grievance
     • Reducing emphasis on ADR.
  7. Allow victims of sexual assault to request, with the support of the center for accountability sexual assault and harassment, transfer of the complaint to civilian authorities; provide information explaining the reasons when transfer is not effected.
  8. Assign responsibility for providing, coordinating and monitoring victim support to the center for accountability for sexual assault and harassment, including the responsibility for advocating on behalf of victims in the complaint and investigation processes.
  9. Assign to the center for accountability for sexual assault and harassment, in coordination with other CAF subject matter experts, responsibility for the development of the training curriculum, and the primary responsibility for monitoring training on matters related to inappropriate sexual conduct. [3]
• 2) That the Government of Canada direct the Department of National Defence to provide comprehensive training regarding LGBTQ2S+ awareness as mandatory for all members and recruits, and that this training be incorporated into regular roundtable discussions in each department and unit.[4]
• 3) That the Government of Canada direct the Department of National Defence to provide comprehensive sexual harassment training as mandatory for all members and recruits, with follow ups within six to eight months on the role of peer and bystander support and intervention. [5] [6]
• 4) That the Government of Canada direct the Department of National Defence to provide legal assistance to cover the costs of a service person filing a sexual harassment complaint. [7]
• 5) That the Government of Canada direct the Department of National Defence to immediately cease and desist mandatory pregnancy tests prior to being accepted for basic or leadership training. [8]
• 6) That the Government of Canada ensure anyone filing a sexual harassment or discrimination case within the Department of National Defence be made aware of their option to go directly to the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) at any time in the process. [9]
• 7) That the Silver Cross Mother appointment be extended to all parents and family members regardless of gender, with a name change to Silver Cross Parent or Silver Cross Family. [10]
• 8) That the Government of Canada ensure the culture of toxic masculinity and patriarchy within the Department of National Defence be addressed immediately with zero tolerance policies, comprehensive training on the issues, and by targeting diversity in recruitment. [11]
• 9) That the Government of Canada direct the Department of National Defence to support its families and single parents with accessible and affordable child care options onsite. [12]
• 10) That the Government of Canada ensure the department of National Defence recognize practices that discriminate against single parents (such as the leave travel assistance policy and the furniture and effects policy) and correct them. [13]
• 11) That the Government of Canada ensure the Department of National Defence recognize child care needs as a legitimate reason to switch trades within the military. [14]
• 12) That the Government of Canada direct the Department of National Defence to adopt the same definition and treatment of sexual assault as exist in the Criminal Code of Canada. [15]
• 13) That the Government of Canada identify the ways in which it can eliminate gender bias in delivery of veterans’ services and programs. [16]
• 14) That the Government of Canada ensure the Department of National Defence applies GBA+ in the development of all policies, programs and research without exception. [17]
• 15) That the Government of Canada ensure the Department of National Defence to include peer support and face-to-face consultation as policy under its Sexual Misconduct Response Center (SMRC). [18] [19]

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the New Democratic Party